Sara Marigomen: Do Dreams Come True
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I don’t actually remember the exact moment I decided on the animation industry. At one point in my teenage years, whenever someone asked me what I wanted to do in the future, I said animation. At the time, I’m not sure I even had a well-thought-out “why.” It was like I had been spun around and tried to pin the tail on the donkey. I was settled, though. Ever since then, each step I took to get into the industry made me more and more passionate about it. I would rewatch animated movies and shows, realizing the impact they had on me. I wanted to make something that impacted children growing up. I watched new animated features and would think about the people who got to make them. I wanted to be the person who helped make them. It became a dream.
Dreams often morph and change with us. Each step of the way, I peeled away at my dream and revealed what I wanted to focus on. I used to think I wanted to be an animator, then it was a storyboard artist, and now, I have realized that my dream is to support people who make those animated stories of impact, and who create new worlds and characters for people to get lost in.
Now I’m working at my first animation studio, and I’m in a role where I can cultivate the culture of the studio, learn about animation, and talk to creatives. That’s a dream come true, right? Maybe. It’s hard to say. Is crossing the first finish line the tell-tale sign of a dream coming to fruition? I’m not by any means disillusioned like how wild entertainment and stories of “wishes gone wrong” tell. I enjoy where I’m at. Though, when something I have been chasing is finally mine, I get to look at it in a different way and evaluate it. Did my dream come true and what do I do now?
Maybe I’m a bit analytical, but let’s compare.
Before coming to Steamroller Animation, I imagined what industry life would be like. I fantasized that it would be like how all those behind-the-scenes videos and documentaries are, rose-colored and everyone laughing at storyboards cut with rough animations on a screen. It’s sitting around the table and everyone pitching, critiquing, and drawing. I imagined that I would get that feeling of “being in the room where it happened”. Every day would be filled with conversations about cartoons and storytelling. Studio life would be bursting at its seams with creativity. Everything would feel perfect like a shampoo commercial.
Now that I’m here, I can say that there are moments that feel like that idealization. I do get to be in the room where it happened. I get to sit and watch roughs and finals. However, there are other moments of value that exist outside of those dream-like times. There are teams outside of projects and productions that are important to the pipeline and well-being of the studio because it’s a business just like any other. There are analytical and pragmatic choices as well as creative choices. There is some degree of office work to be done and meetings with no screenings to go to. Most of all, there are a lot more moments of learning and understanding. That last bit was the most unexpected part.
With how many behind-the-scenes documentaries, life at so-and-so studio videos, and mentors telling their stories, you’d feel like you know a great deal before even stepping a foot into the industry. I did. I was wrong. I just saw the tip of the iceberg, and now I get to see and learn the rest. I got to the foot of the stairs, but I still have more to climb.
Image from American Oceans
There is a little bit of a difference between my dream and reality, but it’s in a great way.
Saying that a dream came true has a note of finality to it. Yet, when experiencing a “dream come true” moment, I realize that it’s not the end of the story. It’s just on to the next chapter where the character gets to learn more about her dream, her dream morphs and takes new shapes, and she revels at the path her dream is taking her on.
